Tag: kayak

Having rented paddleboards in the past, and last year buying one for ourselves, we often get the dogs out with us for a paddle if the water is calm enough. They are fairly well behaved on the board for the most part, understanding from past experiences that setting things off balance can result in them going for a swim. Our board is covered front to back with yoga mat material, giving them pretty good grip to hang on through a bit of chop. Jake wanders a bit on the board, forcing constant adjustments on our behalf to keep dry. Rubix has a habit of standing at the very nose, sometimes paddling herself, but often biting at the larger waves as they pass. Occasionally reaching too far to bite a wave, she ends up swimming at least once each time out.

The kayak is a bit different. One has a large enough seat opening in the hull to allow one dog to sit right in front of you, between your legs. Ang and I both took Rubix for a few short paddles, and once sure she could handle it, Rubix and I loaded in and started the 3km long journey to the north end of the lake where it is fed by the North Verde River, a stretch of river that winds 8km or so from Horseshoe reservoir into Bartlett Lake (also a dammed reservoir). Boating activity was at a minimum by this late in the afternoon, so the chop wasn’t too bad, however, we were fighting the current the whole way. After about 1km she was getting brave, opting to stand, with her front legs out of the kayak and on top of it. This was to allow her to reach the water with her mouth. I imagine it was really getting to her, seeing all these waves splashing up the side and not being able to bite them! The next kilometer was spent with me paddling hard to get through the flow. Every slowdown or stop meant a loss of momentum and more effort to get it back. By kilometer two Rubix was getting quite aggressive with the wave biting, barely letting a lone wave pass by without sinking her teeth into it. Eventually, the waves bit back. One particular wave rocked the boat enough just as she stretched out to get it. A mad scramble of claws on plastic briefly ensued, without much luck gaining a grip. And in she went. Fortunately for me, the kayak is fairly stable, or I’d have been swimming with her. She panicked and tried to get back in the boat with no luck of course. I had to reach over, grab her harness and hoist her in. Once in the boat again she immediately climbed up to lay on my lap, hugging me with claws gripping my skin like little needles full of gratitude. I think it scared her a bit. Her memory obviously short, 10 minutes later she was back to the same wave biting antics, perched precariously out of the kayak once again like nothing happened. We made the mouth of the Verde, got out for a shoreline bathroom break and stretch and headed back. It seemed the current had changed, and we were paddling against it on the way back too. Go figure.